Drew Carey regrets not taking hiatus from ‘Price Is Right’ during ‘DWTS’

Drew Carey got the ballroom boot on “Dancing With the Stars” Monday night, and when it was all over, the comedian-turned-game-show-host told TODAY he had one regret about it all — not putting his work on “The Price Is Right” on hold during the competition.

“It killed me,” Carey said of doing both shows at the same time. “If I were to do it all over again, I would have asked for a hiatus from ‘Price Is Right.’ I would have done a lot better in all my dances. It takes full concentration.”

Cheryl Burke, Carey’s pro dancer partner, had a strong premonition that they would be saying so long to the ballroom bash.

“We both knew at the end of last week,” she told us. “The point difference was pretty thick.”

Burke and Carey ended last week’s show with just 28 points, which left them trailing their closest competitors (actress Candace Cameron Bure and pro Mark Ballas) by seven points with the judges before viewer votes were factored in.

“Everyone was getting 9’s and 10’s last week,” Carey added. “I thought, ‘Well, I’m done.’”

Departing celebs are often asked what they learned about themselves by doing the program. Carey, 56, a longtime “Dancing With the Stars” fan, confessed he actually didn’t really learn anything new.

“I already knew I’m a hard worker,” he said.

“And you know now you can be a pimp,” quipped Burke, referring to the character Carey played in their tango to the Rick James’ song “Super Freak.”

While the “Price” host was hard on himself during Monday’s broadcast, he told reporters in the post-show press line that he feels, all things considered, that he performed well in the competition.

“I wasn’t perfect,” he said. “But I think I did pretty good for a guy who’s never danced before.”

“The dance level is really high,” Burke agreed. “I don’t remember a season like this. Normally, there are two or three contenders, but now it’s the rest (of the competitors). Five or six of them are all at the same level.”

So who do they think will go all the way?

“I think Charlie (White) will make the finals, and it will be between Amy (Purdy) and Meryl (Davis),” Burke said.

“Don’t count out James (Maslow),” countered Carey. “Danica (McKellar) is getting real popular. You never know how the voting is going to go. Everyone is so good.”

See how the rest of the hoofer hopefuls do next week. “Dancing With the Stars” airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.